The House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU) continued its study on productivity at meeting 6 on October 6, 2025. Witnesses appearing were Ryan Greer, Senior Vice-President of Public Affairs and National Policy at Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME); Philippe Noël and Hubert Rioux from the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ); Marc Duhamel, an associate professor at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, appearing as an individual; and Neil Fast, President and CEO of Loewen Windows and Doors.
Ryan Greer of CME said Canada’s manufacturing productivity lags nearly 30% behind the U.S., with business investment per worker at half U.S. levels, and argued that productivity improvements in manufacturing drive innovation and higher wages across the economy. He recommended legislating competitiveness and growth mandates for all federal regulators, expanding the one-for-one rule on red tape to close existing carve-outs, and creating an independent body to grade the quality of regulatory cost-benefit analyses. Greer noted that the U.S. One Big Beautiful Bill Act has made Canada relatively less attractive for manufacturing investment through incentives like immediate expensing and a 100% deduction for production plants.
Philippe Noël and Hubert Rioux of the FCCQ presented their “Livre bleu de la productivité,” stating that Canada’s GDP per capita is $21,000 less than the U.S. and that private investment in machinery per worker is 60% lower. They recommended increasing the small business tax deduction limit from $500,000 to $1 million, implementing the modernized SR&ED program, creating a patent box regime, extending the accelerated investment incentive indefinitely, and making some SME export revenues tax exempt. They also called for a moratorium on restrictions to the temporary foreign worker program, a single tax return with Quebec, and reforms to the CanExport program to fund operations for SMEs entering international markets.
Marc Duhamel, appearing as an individual, highlighted the overlooked role of business transfers in SME productivity, noting that 57,760 SMEs were transferred in Canada in 2022, a 25.8% increase from 2015, and that owners of 51,000 private businesses intend to sell in the next 12 months. He argued that transferred businesses generate average revenue of $4.6 million and $300,000 per employee, making them more productive than many start-ups, and warned that without a federal business transfer strategy, Canada risks losing 285,000 active SMEs over 15 years, similar to Japan’s experience. Duhamel recommended raising awareness among stakeholders, producing better data on transfer markets, and developing a national strategy aligned with provincial efforts like Repreneuriat Québec.
Neil Fast of Loewen Windows and Doors said his company, which employs 700 people and exports over 75% of its production to the U.S., faces significant uncertainty from trade policy and tariffs, with a remission agreement on aluminum set to expire on October 16 that would require paying a 25% tariff upfront and then applying for a drawback. He noted that medium-sized companies like his are too large for many government programs but too small to access large-scale financing, and that regulatory complexity and interprovincial trade barriers, such as differing building codes, limit growth. Fast recommended reducing the overhead and reporting requirements for accessing government programs and urged continued provincial harmonization of trade rules.
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